Wei Wei (first right) sets the backdrop for a family portrait of tourists from Xi'an, Shaanxi province, at Agan Photo Studio in Lanzhou, Gansu province.CHEN BIN/XINHUA
In Agan town, 20 kilometers southeast of Lanzhou's Qilihe district in Northwest China's Gansu province, a flicker of magnesium light pierces through 50 years of dust, still glowing in the window of Agan Photo Studio.
This beam illuminates more than just yellowing film negatives — it captures the collective memory of a community shaped by the country's industrial past and digital present.
Inside the cramped studio, 44-year-old Wei Wei adjusts his father's relic: a wooden large-format Seagull camera older than he is.
As tourists queue for portraits, the vintage device — once used to photograph coal miners' sweat-streaked grins, children's wide-eyed wonder, and labor models' proud gazes — now freezes moments for a new generation seeking nostalgia in the digital age.
Though analog photography — photography that uses a progressively changing recording medium that is either chemical-process based or electronic — took a backseat with the rise of digital photography, a renewed interest in the vintage process has since emerged at the photo studio.
Founded in 1972 as a state-owned enterprise, the studio became a visual chronicle of its milestones under Wei's father Wei Jiexiong, who joined in 1974. At that time, photographers from the studio were often invited to take photos during festivals or celebrations in town.
Agan Photo Studio has seen its appeal rise on social media, attracting numerous tourists to document their memories.CHEN BIN/XINHUA
At the busiest period, Wei Jiexiong would start at 7 in the morning and work until late at night.
Wei Wei spent his childhood in the studio with his father.
The young man at that time watched, then learned: mixing chemicals, loading plates, framing shots.
He recalls: "My father would shoot and print more than 100 photos on a busy day.
"I'd assist him, then try myself. I wanted to preserve people's stories too, like what my father did," he says.
When his father passed away last year, Wei Wei inherited both the studio and its analog legacy.
For Wei Wei, this is not only a family trade, but also about safeguarding authentic stories sealed in monochrome.
In recent years, Agan Photo Studio gained popularity on social media, attracting numerous tourists who come to document their memories.
The studio has not only preserved the fondest memories for the town's residents but also borne witness to social development and transformation.
All this through an appreciation for the past.
Wei, the studio owner, examines negatives the old-fashioned way before choosing which photos to develop.CHEN BIN/XINHUA
A wall of portraits provides a glimpse of bygone days while nostalgia for another era entices a new generation.CHEN BIN/XINHUA
In the darkroom, Wei carefully develops photos and makes prints.CHEN BIN/XINHUA
Wei packs photos before mailing them to customers.CHEN BIN/XINHUA
Wei Jiexiong, Wei Wei's father, examines a photo in the studio's darkroom in 2023.CHEN BIN/XINHUA
Editor:Qiu Xiaochen
